Roots & Branches: Estate file adds some spice to family history

You've got to watch your cousins.

Especially when one marries your sister.

That's the "moral of the story" that I got from reading an estate.

I was at the Berks County Register of Wills office and had pulled the file of Philip Himmelberger of Centre Township, primarily with the aim of proving his ownership of a particular property that was referenced in a research project on which I was working.

But what I saw after my primary aim was completed made for even better reading.

Philip Himmelberger died early in 1847 and left as heirs one son, David, and five daughters, including Maria, who was married to John Himmelberger, a first cousin to Maria's father.

Now, such a "cousin marriage" wasn't that unusual in the closed society of the 19th-century Pennsylvania Germans, but what happened next was out of the ordinary.

John petitioned the county Orphan's Court for an "inquest" by a sheriff's jury to set a value for Philip's real estate, and David (who apparently was living on the land and working the valuable grist mill there) was unhappy with price set by the inquest for him to buy the property.

He was so unhappy that he filed an "exception" to the appraisal and offered a deposition from one Jacob Stamm that David's cousin and brother-in-law met with one of the jurors before the inquest and influenced him to have it valued too high.

Stamm's deposition notes: "The conversation took place at Gicker tavern in Centre Township" - a great piece of information to spice up the family history!

What resulted was a second inquest with an appraisal that was accepted by David, who lived there until his death in 1889. The property would stay in the hands of his descendants for another 80 years.

* * *

Remember when Ancestry.com became "The Generations Network," presumably because Ancestry.com was just one of its websites? And less than 3 years later changed the corporate name back to Ancestry.com since that's what everyone continued to call it?

Well, they're doing that stuff again. Less than a year after acquiring Footnote.com, they've decided now that it should be known as Fold3.com.Here's the official line of reasoning for those of you saying "Huh?"

According to Ancestry.com, "As we refocus our efforts on gathering the best online collection of military records and stories we wanted a name that would reflect military history and honor. Traditionally, the third fold in a flag-folding ceremony honors and remembers veterans for their sacrifice in defending their country and promoting peace in the world."

Footnote.com, excuse me, Fold3.com is still priced at $79.95 a year. Monthly subscriptions are also available for $11.95 and access to its indexes remains free.

Fold3 currently has 74 million images of historical documents and photos, include collections from the Revolutionary War, War of 1812, Civil War, World Wars I and II and America's more recent engagements in Vietnam and elsewhere.

 

By JAMES M. BEIDLER

 

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